Ketta Brown says there’s more work to do on school board

Another in a series of occasional stories profiling the school board candidates.

Ketta Brown has spent many years being involved in the Laguna Beach Unified School District.

The mother of three children who attended or attend district schools is also council treasurer of the districtwide Parent Teacher Assn., auditor of the Laguna Beach High School PTA and a school board trustee.

Brown, 54, is also the only one of three incumbents seeking reelection — and one of four candidates vying for three spots on the five-member board. Betsy Jenkins and Theresa O’Hare are not running for reelection.

Brown’s competition includes Dee Perry, a retired Laguna Beach Unified teacher; Carol Normandin, a parent of three children in district schools who ran a recruiting business; and Annette Gibson, a registered nurse.

First elected to the school board in 2006, Brown said she wants to extend her tenure for a third term as the district faces key decisions related to new standardized state tests, future repairs to the high school tennis courts and classroom technology upgrades.

Educating parents on the new Common Core education standards is crucial, Brown said.

Common Core places greater emphasis on critical thinking and writing skills rather than rote memorization. Students’ standardized test scores in the new format will count this year; last year was a trial period.

Many uncertainties remain, including the classes to be offered at the various grade levels, Brown said.

“For me, I’m concerned with how the math will be implemented,” she said. “Are we going to have algebra in eighth grade?”

Brown would like assurances from university officials that they will consider each student who applies individually, regardless of whether the applicant attended a Common Core school.

“There are going to be bumps in the road,” Brown said. “If we can get some acknowledgment that it is a process, it would make it a lot easier for people to make choices. The ultimate goal is to get students college- and career-ready.”

Brown said a key achievement in the past eight years was the elimination of testing into Advanced Placement, or honors, classes at the high school.

“Everyone has a right to be in an honors or Advanced Placement class,” Brown said. “There are no closed classes, and that is huge at a public school. Not everyone is going to be a math or English whiz, but this allows kids to take that risk. It’s a huge life lesson.”

Brown said she has learned a lot since being elected.

Brown admitted that public criticism of certain high-level district hires last year — two of whom resigned within a month of each other — caused her to reevaluate her role as a board member.

“I need to be more aware, more present and vocal,” said Brown, who left her career in public finance when she moved to Laguna in 1990.

Brown has participated on the Laguna Beach High School Scholarship Foundation since 2006 and previously served on the board of directors for Friendship Shelter, a nonprofit that operates an overnight emergency shelter in Laguna Canyon called the Alternative Sleeping Location. The Friendship Shelter also provides 32 adults with transitional housing at a facility on South Coast Highway.